China Digest, September 24, 2012

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Badminton greats Lin Dan, two-time Olympic champion, and two-time world champion Xie Xingfang wed yesterday at Beijing University of Technology stadium, where Lin won his first Olympic gold in 2008, the Chongqing Economic Times reports. Yesterday was the eighth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar, believed a very auspicious day in China. Lin, nicknamed "Super Dan", defended his singles title at the recent London Olympics.

Expressions of guilt

Prosecutors in Changping district are working with psychologists to interpret micro-expressions when interrogating corruption suspects, The Beijing News reports. After more than a year of doing theoretical work with the Legal Information Centre of the China University of Political Science and Law, the anti-corruption bureau of the Changping procuratorate has put the study into practice. Authorities said that findings from the reading of micro-expressions won't be used as evidence in court, but they are still expected to help aid investigators in telling whether a suspect is being entirely truthful.

CHONGQING

Forgery suspects held

Chongqing police recently detained four people in connection with making forged documents such as national IDs and university degrees, the Legal Daily reports. One buyer was also detained. Police seized 13 forgery machines and 1,871 documents. The group had allegedly been selling the documents not only in the municipality, but also in Sichuan, Hunan and Hubei provinces.

Tourism PhDs get free ride

The municipal government will pay the tuition for five PhD students studying tourism at Chongqing University, at a total cost of 1 million yuan over four years, in an effort to cultivate the city's booming tourism industry. When they graduate, the students will work in the municipal tourism sector, the Chongqing Morning Post reports. The fund, at a cost of 50,000 yuan per student each year, will cover tuition and a living allowance.

GANSU

Great Wall fire alarm

The province will spend nearly 9 million yuan to improve fire protection at the Jiayuguan section of the Great Wall, Xinhuanet.com reports. The money will come from a national relics-protection fund and be used to set up a 24-hour fire-protection and alert network that will detect fire threats and notify firefighters quickly. Construction will begin next year, and optical fibres will be used to avoid increasing the risk of fires that could occur from electrical shortages.

Suicide to prove innocence

A preliminary investigation indicates that 15-year-old girl in Longnan committed suicide last week by drinking pesticide in order to prove her innocence after she was accused of stealing 253 yuan from a classmate, the Lanzhou Morning Post reports. Police said that a note written by the girl said she never took the money. The case was still under investigation.

HUBEI

New high-speed train

High-speed train service from Wuhan to Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Hunan, will begin on Friday, the Beijing Times reports. Travel time between the two cities will be reduced from about 4½ hours to two hours. Ticket prices will range from 245 to 392 yuan.

Steal one for the Diaoyus

Wuhan police arrested a man for stealing a Yamaha motorcycle last week, and he later told police he stole the vehicle because it was Japanese-made, the Changjiang Times reports. The motorcycle was stolen on Wednesday and the suspect was caught allegedly trying to sell it the next day. The theft occurred amid nationwide anti-Japanese sentiment, resulting from an ongoing territorial dispute in the East China Sea.

HUNAN

Dubious dye in chilli paste

An industrial dye suspected of being a carcinogen has been discovered in chilli paste and red chilli powder in Changsha, according to a local market watchdog, the Shanghai Daily reports. The Changsha Industrial and Commercial Bureau has revoked the licence of a company and a dealer has been fined tens of thousands of yuan. The dye was Rhodamine B, a banned food additive.

First local insurer opens

The first local insurance firm registered in Changsha - Jixiang Life Insurance - opened Friday, a big step toward bringing local insurance services to residents, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reports. The firm was approved by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission in July of last year and will mainly focus on offering insurance related to health and pensions.

JIANGSU

Villagers get banks

As of this month, about 15,000 villages in the province have local access to banking services, making it easier for farmers to manage their finances, the Xinhua Daily reports. Villagers are now able to use bank branches and ATMs to manage their pension accounts, agricultural subsidies and general savings. It is part of an ongoing effort by the central government to extend financial services to rural areas.

Student convicted for porn

A 23-year-old graduate student in Nanjing received a three-year sentence, suspended for 3½ years, and a 10,000-yuan fine, for uploading 128 porn videos to his website, the Yangtse Evening Post reports. The student offered the videos for free and charged advertisers a small fee for each ad that was clicked on the site. He has returned about 20,000 yuan in earnings.

SHANGHAI

Japan trips suspended

More than half of the tour groups scheduled to depart from Shanghai to Japan during the October 1 National Day holiday have been suspended, due to ongoing tensions between the two countries, the Oriental Morning Post reports. Meanwhile, the National Tourism Administration on Friday issued a travel warning to Chinese planning to visit Japan. Some travel agencies said all customers had cancelled their Japan trips.

Two killed on the Bund

Two women are dead from stab wounds suffered in an attack on Friday night at the Bund waterfront area, Eastday.com reports. One of them died that night soon after arriving at hospital, and the other died on Saturday. Police detained the suspected killer, from Jiangxi, but the reason for the attack was unclear.

TIBET

Wildlife numbers grow

The number of endangered Tibetan antelopes has increased to about 150,000, and there are now about 100,000 wild Tibetan donkeys in the Changtang National Nature Reserve, China News Service reports. The reserve, in northern Tibet, is inhabited by more than 40 kinds of protected animals. The number of Tibetan antelopes had drastically declined since the 1970s, and there were only about 50,000 in the 1990s.

3b yuan eduction hub

The construction of an education hub in Lhasa began on Saturday, the Tibet Daily reports. With an investment of 3 billion yuan, the hub will contain a teachers' training centre, a vocational school and at least three middle schools. The area is expected to cater to more than 15,000 students.